Share

U.S. crude price hits 3-month high

Oil prices have regained strength by 25% since mid-February when Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Venezuela and non-OPEC exporter Russian Federation said they would leave supply at January’s levels if there was enough support from other producers.

Advertisement

Brent was up $1.15, or 2.9 percent, at $40.80 a barrel by 11:10 a.m. EST (1610 GMT), after touching a session high at $41.11. Meanwhile, China is doing the policies and plans to active its economy from which the oil demand will benefit.

US stockpiles probably rose 3.5 million barrels last week from an eight-decade high, according to a Bloomberg News survey before government data Wednesday.

Oil in London has advanced more than 40 percent since slumping to a 12-year low in January amid speculation a proposal to freeze production will trim a global glut.

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. The world prices for oil, crushing the effectiveness of the EU industry through the premium status of oil in the European market, ensured U.S.’ comfortable advantage even amid yesterday’s riot – attempt to bring prices up to $42 a barrel.

“If the meeting results in some form of consensus to freeze production, it would mean some countries will need to pare back to make sure overall OPEC production doesn’t grow, [in order] to accommodate the growth in Iranian production”, said Vyanne Lai, an energy analyst at National Australia Bank.

A meeting between oil producers to discuss a global pact on freezing production is unlikely to take place in Russian Federation on March 20, sources familiar with the matter say, as Opec member Iran is yet to say whether it would participate in such a deal. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S. crude oil declined 3.7% to $36.50 a barrel.

“We maintain our near-term view of a trendless oil market with substantial volatility between $40/bbl (under which creates financial stress) and $20/bbl (under which creates operational stress)”, its commodities research team reported this week.

Advertisement

On the supply side, the latest data from the American Petroleum Institute showed an increase in oil inventories of 4.4 million barrels over the latest week – lifting them to a record high for the fourth week in succession. China’s crude imports rose to a record in February, while product exports fell to the lowest in nine months. Stockpiles are at 518 million barrels, the most since 1930.

Iraqi Oil Worker Works In Refinery